The Guardian’s look at the pitfalls of budgeting for your wedding (and Milestone Weddings as a possible solution)

Milestone in the News!

The Guardian, 18th May 2000

How to survive your big day

The dress, the cake, the flowers, the rows...
getting married can be a nightmare. In a bumper year for weddings,
Anna Tims shows how to cut the cost - and the anguish.

A wedding is probably the most expensive celebration any of us will
undertake, and this year, largely due to millennium fever, up to 20%
more happy couples are walking down the aisle than in recent years.
You and Your Wedding magazine estimates the industry to be worth a
staggering £4.5bn, with an average spend of £14,500 on the
big day. Weddings are big business - and the expanding industry is
ensuring that we spend more than ever on getting it just right.

Mailshots by everyone from bakers to slimming agencies start arriving
as soon as the engagement is announced in the newspapers or the couple
registers with one of the multiplying nuptial websites. Then there are
the wedding guides, all claiming to steer us safely through these
perilous waters. Most are good at the obvious - counselling us to
choose a dress that we like and to check that there are lavatories at
the reception venue - but those who embark on the enterprise are
likely to be bruised by unmentioned pitfalls.

The best tip is to do the deed between October and March, when fewer
people marry and companies are more inclined to bargain to secure
custom. And plan well ahead. Many venues, florists and car hire
companies are booked more than a year ahead and even wedding list
companies require at least three or four months notice.

For those still tempted, here are some of the stings in the
marketplace that no one ever tells you about.

The dress

Fancy a day off in town and a leisurely browse through the bridal
shops? Forget it. Most stores insist on an appointment before you can
ask questions or try on, and smaller boutiques won’t even let
you in to flick through their rails unless you’ve pre-booked up
to a fortnight beforehand.

And once shut in the hallowed precincts with an assistant it takes a
steely will to resist the sales pressure as gown after gown is brought
forth. A stiff gin is required to cope with the prices. The national
average is £700 and for anything more stylish than a glorified
sundress expect to pay £1,000 plus. You don’t buy off the
peg even in department stores. The dress is either made up for you to
a standard size, or created bespoke, and if you are a trifle larger or
smaller than average expect to be talked into the bespoke option with
its 10-20% premium. Surprisingly, it can be much cheaper to get a gown
made by an independent dressmaker who will have fewer overheads and
perhaps a better idea of personal service.

The reception venue

The biggest headache of all. The real fun begins if your chosen
establishment does not have in-house caterers. Most, especially
historic ones, will insist you choose from a list of approved caterers
- which launches you into a mathematical nightmare. Many
’forget’ to add VAT on to their quotes, requiring you to
set to work with a calculator. Some prices include china, cutlery,
glassware and waiting staff, others don’t. One might look
pricier than the other until you find they throw in a half-bottle of
wine per head.

The wine, indeed, is the best lark of the lot. Some venues charge you
a hefty corkage if you don’t buy your wine from them, while your
approved caterer may fine you if you do. The same goes for hotels,
which can charge up to £18 corkage per bottle if you bring your
own champagne. And beware: some hotels keep the cost of their food low
to attract you, then clobber you for the drink. Watch too for those
alluring packages which offer room hire, food and drink inclusive. It
might mean that the wine flow is heavily restricted and while top
table rejoices in liberal helpings of the best, the lower ranks are
going thirsty. The solution is not to give the staff carte blanche to
serve up as much as is needed, because you have no way of keeping tabs
on what goes on the final bill. Instead, tell them to consult you when
the pre-purchased supplies run low and authorise a set number of new
bottles. But don’t, whatever you do, get carried away with
joie de vivre. Most venues will set a deadline for your departure;
exceed that by 20 minutes and you pay twice.

Invitations

Hopeful stationery companies will fling themselves at you once your
engagement is made public. Many of the larger ones end up farming out
your order to a printer so you end up paying the printing costs and
the middleman. They may also be less flexible about the order size,
meaning you could end up paying for far more than you need. It can
cost you up to half the price if you go to a small printing firm, many
of which sell directly to the public, and which should be more
amenable to small orders.

Florists

There is a certain snobbery in the flower industry and designers at
the top end of the market might insist on working with exclusive
blooms for a corresponding price, whereas your local florist will be
content to knock together a posy of roses. Don’t be tempted to
ask said florist to emulate a design by one of the professional
designers in the hope of cutting costs, because you get what you pay
for and floral artistry is an expensively acquired skill.

Things get more complicated if you live at one end of the country and
plan to marry at the other. The chances are you won’t have time
to seek out a good supplier near the venue and you may already be
smitten with one on your home patch. Will they travel and will the
blooms look as fresh as they did when they get there?

Self-employed flower decorators who buy the best they can find in the
market within your budget are a good solution. They often charge
competitively because they have no shop and low overheads and are used
to travelling. Florists accustomed to doing arrangements in their shop
might find extra decorations are needed when they get to the venue and
won’t have the necessaries with them.

The Cake

Check the tiers and top decorations are included in the quote and ask
about travelling charges. You won’t be able to transport it on
the day and it’s too much responsibility for a friend. The best
fruit cakes should be kept for several weeks to mature, but if the
storage is inadequate the cake will be dry. Ask, therefore, to taste a
few samples of previously baked creations. The average cake costs
£200 and much of that goes into the fiddly sugar flowers. You can
cut costs by settling for fresh or silk blooms or silk invitations.

Transport

Most car hire companies charge a flat rate of around £100, be it
for 10 miles or 10 yards. Sad, but inevitable. Limos take a lot of
maintenance, as do their chauffeurs, and who’s to know a juicier
booking won’t have to be turned away after they’ve
committed to you.

Useful guides

Milestone Weddings is one of the first of a handful of wedding
co-ordinators that do all the work for a fee. Details from 020-8488
7223 or go to milestoneweddings.co.uk

Confetti.co.uk lists useful suppliers and has dresses categorised by
price from £300.

Weddingguide.uk.com has handy hints for the overwhelmed.

The Which? Guide to Getting Married contains useful checklists.
Published by Which?Books, price £9.99. Details from 0800 252 100.

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